Seoul: Korea Zinc Co. adopted a cumulative voting system that could shift the power dynamics in director elections as the company faces an escalating management battle with its biggest shareholder, Young Poong Corp., company officials said Thursday. However, its implementation will be put off to the next shareholders’ meeting following a recent court ruling.

According to Yonhap News Agency, at its extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting in Seoul, the company approved the adoption of cumulative voting by more than two-thirds of the voting rights in attendance. Cumulative voting enables shareholders to allocate all their votes to a single nominee when multiple board positions are open. This system is considered a type of voting system that helps strengthen the ability of minority shareholders to elect a director.

Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-beom, who is facing a takeover attempt by Young Poong and private equity firm MBK Partners, has proposed the system as a way to keep Young Poong’s candidates from being elected to the board of directors. Despite the approval, the new voting system will take effect only at the next meeting.

A Seoul court on Tuesday upheld an injunction from the Young Poong-MBK alliance, blocking Choi’s team from presenting the proposal at Thursday’s meeting. As a result, shareholders at this meeting will elect new directors using the traditional voting method, where each share corresponds to one vote for a single nominee.